I just finished up my first attempt at a 'short' story. 13K words that reads more like an abbreviated novella.
I struggled for weeks to shorten it and the more words I found unnecessary, the more details I saw needed to be added to bring clarity to the story. The first draft was about 13.7K and worked it down to a little over 12.9k, but now a little under 13.0K.
Now considering accepting I have either a novelette or a novella and then adding back some of the cut scenes plus a bit more.
The closest I have for a short story is a prologue for a novella. Not sure if that would be acceptable for an entry for anyone. And doing something on Hemingway? That is beyond my ability. Sorry.
My "Comfortable" writing length for short(er) form is either less than 1.5K or 10K-13K. Anything between those is incredibly hard. So I feel your pain.
All I remember about the 3 Hemmingway stories I read in High School was that I didn't like any of them. (The Pearl, Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, I might have read something about Cannery Row...but I don't remember for sure, so probably not).
Check out my reply above to Jay. You might still be able to write a story. Even if you didn't enjoy the Hemingway stories you read. Do you remember them? Enough to get an idea or you can refresh yourself on one or find a short story. I used his short stories to inspire my story.
You could write a story based on some thing in a Hemingway novel. A line. A sentence. An idea. Use it in your own way. That's what I did. My story is not about a Hemingway story. It was inspired by one. That's all you need. And, if it helps any, I wrote it because I did NOT like the story or the ending so I wrote one I DO like. My own story. In my own Genres. You could certainly do it, too. Maybe you can add a Hemingway slant/twist to your prologue? Even if the changes don't stay for your actual prologue. Either way, congratulations on your shorter writing success!
Is there a specific genre the short story needs to be in? And can it already be published elsewhere? I have one in mind I'll send over to you if you don't mind the piece already being published on Substack.
Got to get mine done! It's going to be awesome. One of the main characters really started talking to me the other day and she's a real spitfire! Loved it.
I just finished up my first attempt at a 'short' story. 13K words that reads more like an abbreviated novella.
I struggled for weeks to shorten it and the more words I found unnecessary, the more details I saw needed to be added to bring clarity to the story. The first draft was about 13.7K and worked it down to a little over 12.9k, but now a little under 13.0K.
Now considering accepting I have either a novelette or a novella and then adding back some of the cut scenes plus a bit more.
The closest I have for a short story is a prologue for a novella. Not sure if that would be acceptable for an entry for anyone. And doing something on Hemingway? That is beyond my ability. Sorry.
My "Comfortable" writing length for short(er) form is either less than 1.5K or 10K-13K. Anything between those is incredibly hard. So I feel your pain.
All I remember about the 3 Hemmingway stories I read in High School was that I didn't like any of them. (The Pearl, Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, I might have read something about Cannery Row...but I don't remember for sure, so probably not).
Cannery Row was Steinbeck. Also good though.
I never had a comfortable length other than whatever the story wanted to be.
That's what I mean.
The story was "done" before 1.5K
or
The story was "done" (what it wanted to tell) at 10K-13K - every time.
Kinda like you saying you figure your Black Ops stories are all about the same length.
I just haven't really have a story that falls between naturally/(what it wanted to tell).
This is an issue when writing short stories for anthologies with rules you have to follow! (So, I've quit writing for those.)
The Pearl was Steinbeck too :) It's another one of my favorites.
Yep. I enjoyed several of his.
I didn't like Steinbeck, either.. lol He killed the pony in The Red Pony - never forgave him of that!
Maybe I need to revisit Hemingway, now that I'm older and see if he is more to taste.
Maybe. If you do, don't look for anything. Just read and enjoy.
Admittedly, I haven’t read The Red Pony. Maybe I wouldn’t care for him if I read that because I don’t like the idea of a pony dying, either!
On the other hand, beware tossing out the baby with the bathwater. I didn't like The Red Pony but I loved some of his other works.
Check out my reply above to Jay. You might still be able to write a story. Even if you didn't enjoy the Hemingway stories you read. Do you remember them? Enough to get an idea or you can refresh yourself on one or find a short story. I used his short stories to inspire my story.
You could write a story based on some thing in a Hemingway novel. A line. A sentence. An idea. Use it in your own way. That's what I did. My story is not about a Hemingway story. It was inspired by one. That's all you need. And, if it helps any, I wrote it because I did NOT like the story or the ending so I wrote one I DO like. My own story. In my own Genres. You could certainly do it, too. Maybe you can add a Hemingway slant/twist to your prologue? Even if the changes don't stay for your actual prologue. Either way, congratulations on your shorter writing success!
Thank you, Carrie. I will look at that. After all there are 2 days left in May!
You can do it! ❤️
Is there a specific genre the short story needs to be in? And can it already be published elsewhere? I have one in mind I'll send over to you if you don't mind the piece already being published on Substack.
I'll reiterate the rules tomorrow, but must be previously unpublished and any genre is fine except erotica.
Got to get mine done! It's going to be awesome. One of the main characters really started talking to me the other day and she's a real spitfire! Loved it.